来吧！和我一起探索法国葡萄酒产区！

Tersina Shieh

葡萄酒爱好者常常会去葡萄酒产区度假，我也不例外。7月份我去了勃艮第、汝拉和阿尔萨斯，此前我从未来过法国这片区域。我的法语简直是捉襟见肘，但这让我的法国产区游更加有趣。有些朋友对我的旅程很感兴趣，问我都预约参观了哪些酒庄。但实际上，我不仅没有预约，也压根不想这么做。如果我事先就安排好了一切，那不就是一次出差吗？而且我更喜欢去探访那些我从没听说过的酒庄，那里才会有惊喜在等待我！

勃艮第 Burgundy

博恩是我在探索勃艮第时的落脚点，那里的自行车路线和徒步旅行路线都标识得很明显。我花了几天时间在葡萄园和各个出名的村庄之间骑自行车和徒步旅行，其中包括沃内、莎萨涅-蒙塔什（Chassagne-Montrachet）和阿洛克斯-科通（Aloxe-Corton），还有一天开车去了博若莱。那里没有壮阔的风景，但会让人感到愉悦和平静。似乎这些村庄里的生活都与葡萄酒息息相关。我只在6家酒庄做了品鉴，他们的葡萄酒都纯正且友好。在午餐时段里，所有的酒庄至少会停业2个小时，有些酒庄还需要提前预约，因为当你拜访时，他们很可能正在葡萄园里劳作。

大多数老牌酒商在博恩都有品鉴室。法语名叫Patriarche的地下酒窖不容错过，这家酒窖可以让你进行自助品鉴，使用完Tastevin品酒器后你还可以把它保留起来。也有一些独立的葡萄酒商店，你可以在店内买到精品葡萄酒和小众品牌。我在博若莱一点都不走运，但还好我在一家商店里找到了2014年份的芙雅庄“3.14”葡萄酒，这款酒可是用有100年树龄的葡萄藤酿制而成的！

在博恩，一定要去伯恩济贫院好好停留几个小时去了解它的历史。你还可以顺便去Edmond Fallot芥末坊品尝各种各样口味的芥末酱，甚至还有黑皮诺味儿！

博恩的餐馆比比皆是，那些位于老城墙广场内的馆子都是很好的去处，但如果想要喝到几杯不错的葡萄酒，我会强烈推荐Maison du Colombier和Le Bistrot Bourguignon这两家店，那里的葡萄酒单选择非常广泛，而在Le Comptoir des Tontons，你还可以喝到有机和天然葡萄酒。Caves Madeleine也是一家名声远扬的店，但当我到达时，那里已经满位了。哦对了！如果你去第戎的话，我会推荐Dr Wine！那里的葡萄酒和小吃都棒极了！

汝拉 Jura

我的下一站是汝拉，这也是最让人出乎意料的产区。以阿尔布瓦为落脚点，我在这一带驱车转悠了几天，学到了关于萨瓦涅、普萨、巴斯塔都这些本地葡萄品种的不少知识。然而本地品种以外的两个法定葡萄品种才是种植得最广泛的：霞多丽占了43%，此外还有黑皮诺。毫无疑问，汝拉比勃艮第更具乡村气息，但两地的风景完全不同，这里会更为壮观。博姆莱·梅谢于尔（Baume-les-Messieurs）是法国最美的村庄之一，被高耸的悬崖所环绕。夏隆古堡（Chateau-Chalon）是个位于山顶的村庄，是个仅出产黄葡萄酒（Vin Jaune）的法定产区。阿尔布瓦本身是一个宁静的历史名城，翠桑斯河流就此穿过。城内主要的街道上遍布着品鉴室和葡萄酒商店。显然，这里就是法国第一个法定葡萄酒产区！

对我而言，当地品种萨瓦涅（Savagnin）是最迷人的。用它酿造出来的葡萄酒酒体丰满、酸度爽脆，带有柑橘和花香。这个地区最出名的葡萄酒就是汝拉黄葡萄酒，酿造方法是将萨瓦涅装入橡木桶中陈年至少6年零3个月，在此期间会形成一层酒花（类似菲诺雪利），桶中的酒液不会被补满或者强化，陈酿完成后会装入620毫升容积的Clavelin酒瓶中。这种葡萄酒有被称为“氧化”的风格，因为桶中陈酿期间并没有被补满酒液，但这也是我的不解之处。因为葡萄酒其实在酒花层下面进行陈年，按照雪利酒的定义这是生物陈年而不是氧化陈年。当然，这种葡萄酒的颜色是金黄色的，不像氧化的阿蒙提拉多或欧罗索雪利酒那种褐色。汝拉黄酒有雪利酒那种坚果味的特点，但口感新鲜。我每一次品尝汝拉黄酒时都会挠头，可我那蹩脚的法语无法让我和当地人进行任何有意义的讨论。我希望任何读到这篇文章的人，可以跟我分享他/她的想法。

“传统”萨瓦涅的陈年时间比汝拉黄酒短，同样也不需要补满酒液，因此它仍然可以发展出雪利酒的特征，尽管不是那么明显。相比之下，如果将酒液装满来陈年的话，那么就会得到果味十足的葡萄酒。蒂索特酒庄（Domaine André et Mireille Tissot）甚至在陶罐中酿造萨瓦涅。除了干型葡萄酒之外，萨瓦涅还可以用来酿造起泡酒、麦秆酒（用葡萄干酿成的天然甜酒），还有麦文酒（在未发酵的葡萄汁中加入酒渣白兰地酿成的利口酒）。汝拉带来的另一个惊喜是一种叫做红尾瓜（Melonà Queue Rouge）的葡萄品种，这是霞多丽的变种，有一条红色的茎。它只种植在阿尔布瓦附近，仅仅少数生产商用它来酿酒，潘特酒庄（Domaine de la Pinte）就是其一。

阿尔萨斯 Alsace

距离阿尔布瓦仅有2个小时车程的阿尔萨斯，是个完全不一样的世界。由于历史的原因，这里的建筑、村庄名称、葡萄酒以及文化在一定程度上都比法国更加德国化。面包店的牛角包被德国的椒盐脆饼所取代。有时候我甚至闹不清自己是在德国还是法国。科尔马的老城非常吸引人，那里有傳统的木骨架房屋、花卉展览和运河，大多数阿尔萨斯葡萄酒村庄坐落于山坡或山顶，同样风景如画。在阿尔萨斯很适合骑自行车，这里也是徒步旅行者的天堂。我骑车经过埃吉桑村（Eguisheim）时正巧碰上了葡萄酒节，这简直太让人兴奋了，最后我在那里呆了3个小时才离开！

我还参加了在里博维莱（Ribeauville）举办的葡萄酒和美食展。有11家餐厅在这里设立展位，每家提供一道菜来搭配2款葡萄酒。伴随着音乐和DJ，狂欢的人们在夜幕中欢快起舞。如果额外支付费用，那么葡萄酒爱好者们就可以在一个单独的品鉴室内品尝到270多种葡萄酒，你可以根据葡萄酒的类型或者葡萄的种类来挑：起泡酒、莎斯拉、西万尼、白皮诺、欧赛华、麝香葡萄、雷司令、桃红葡萄酒、黑皮诺、灰皮诺和琼瑶浆。来猜猜看我大部分的时间花在了哪里？在科尔马，有两家餐厅一定要去试试！一家是由2位侍酒师共同经营的LUn Des Sens餐厅，另一家是能够提供250款杯卖酒的Le Cercle des Aromas餐厅。位于利克维的Le Grognard餐厅葡萄酒单也很不错，但他们的朗姆酒酒单要更胜一筹！

這次旅程非常愉快。亲眼目睹和体验一个葡萄酒产区是了解其葡萄酒的方式。或许我们对勃艮第的美酒很熟悉，但参观村庄，看看在葡萄园里劳作的人们，让我们有机会去欣赏那些不那么出名的葡萄酒。与当地人交流无疑能够帮助我们拓宽视野。更何况葡萄酒产区里可不只有葡萄酒，别忘了这里还有历史、文化、户外活动和美食。下一个假期，不妨就去葡萄园开展你的探索之旅！在英文原文的结尾，我为你推荐了一些酒庄。快去看看吧！

Wine lovers always choose to go to wine regions for holiday and I am no exception. My adventure in July was Burgundy， Jura and Alsace. I have never been to this part of France and my French is pathetic， but this is exactly why it was fun.

Some friends were excited about my trip and asked which wineries I had made appointments to visit. Actually I didnt and didnt want to. It would be a work trip if I have arranged meetings in advance. Moreover， I much prefer to see wineries that I havent heard of， there are always nice surprises waiting round the corner！

Burgundy

Beaune was my base to explore Burgundy， where there are wellsigned cycling tracks and hiking routes. I spent a few days cycling and hiking amongst the vineyards and famous villages including Volnay， Chassagne-Montrachet and Aloxe-Corton， then a day driving down to Beaujolais. There is no dramatic landscape but the scenery is pleasant and calming. It seems that the life at all these villages only revolves around wine. I only tasted at six wineries but they were all authentic and friendly. All cellar doors close at lunch time for at least 2 hours and some need prior appointments because they may be working in vineyards.

Most established negociants have tasting rooms in Beaune. A not-to-be-missed is Patriarche for its underground cellar with selfguided tasting using a tastevin that you can keep. There are also a few independent wine shops that carry boutique， individual labels. I didnt have any luck in Beaujolais but was glad to find the Jean Foillard Cuvée 3.14 2014， made from 100 years old vines at one of these shops.

While in Beaune， make sure to spend a good few hours at Hospices de Beaune （also called H？tel-Dieu de Beaune） to learn about the history； and drop by La Moutarderie Edmond Fallot to taste the many mustard flavours， including Pinot Noir！

Restaurants abound in Beaune. Those around the square inside the old city wall are great for people watching but for a few good glasses of wine， highly recommended are Maison du Colombier and Le Bistrot Bourguignon for an extensive wine list， and Le Comptoir des Tontons for organic and natural wine. Caves Madeleine has a good reputation but it was full when I was there.

In case you visit Dijon， Dr Wine is the place to for good one for wine and tapas.

Jura

My next stop Jura was the most unexpected. I used Arbois as the base， drove around the region for few days， and learned everything from Savagnin to Poulsard and Trousseau， all local varieties. The other two permitted varieties are the most widely planted Chardonnay（43%） and Pinot Noir. Jura is certainly more rustic than Burgundy but the scenery is totally different and more spectacular. Baumeles-Messieurs， ranked one of the most beautiful villages in France， is surrounded by high cliffs， while Chateau-Chalon is a hilltop village and a Vin Jaune only AOC. Arbois itself is a quiet historic town with the Cuisance River passing through it. The main streets are dotted with tasting rooms and wine shops. Apparently， it is the first AOC denomination in France！

For me， the local variety Savagnin is the most fascinating. It is full-bodied with crisp acidity， citrus and floral notes. The most famous wine from the region is Vin Jaune （yellow wine）， where Savagnin is aged under a layer of flor （like fino sherry） in oak barrels for a minimum of 6 years and 3 months without topping up or fortification， and bottled in a special 62cl bottle‘Clavelin. The wine style is known as‘oxidativestyle because it is aged without topping up but this is what I dont understand. The wine is aged under a layer of flor which by sherrys definition， is biological ageing rather than oxidative ageing. Yes， the wine is golden yellow but it is nowhere like the brown colour of oxidative Amontillado or Oloroso sherry. The wine has the nutty sherry character yet fresh on palate. I scratched my head every time I tasted Vin Jaune but my hopeless French forbid me to have any meaningful discussion with the locals. I welcome anyone who read this to share his/her thought.

‘TraditionSavagnin is aged without topping up and in a shorter period of time than Vin Jaune， so the wine can still develop the‘sherrycharacter although not as obvious. In contrast，‘OuilleSavagnin is aged with topping up giving more fruit-forward wine. Domaine André et Mireille Tissot even made an Amphore Savagnin. Apart from dry wine， Savagnin can also be made into Crémant（sparkling wine）， Vin de Paille （naturally sweet wine made with dried grapes）， and Macvin du Jura （liqueur wine made by adding marc brandy to unfermented grape juice）.

Another surprise in Jura is a variety called Melon à Queue Rouge， a mutation of Chardonnay that has a red stem. It is planted only around Arbois and just a few producers are making this as a varietal wine， including Domaine de la Pinte.

Alsace

Only two hours drive from Arbois， Alsace is a totally different world. The architecture， names of villages， wines and to a certain extent culture， are more Germanic than French because of historical reasons. Croissants in bakeries are replaced by bretzels （pretzels in Germany）. There are times that I was wondering if I was in Germany or France.

The old town of Colmar is very attractive with traditional halftimbered houses， floral displays and canals， while most Alsatian wine villages， located on slopes or hill tops， are equally picturesque. The region is bicycle-friendly and a hikers paradise. I was so excited to have come across a wine festival while cycling through the village of Eguisheim， and ended up spending 3 hours there！

I also attended the Wine and Gastronomy Fair in Ribeauville. 11 restaurant stands were set up where each restaurant showcasing one dish accompanied with two wines. There were music， DJs and revellers were dancing the night away. For an extra fee， wine lovers could sample over 270 wines according to style and grape varieties： Crémant， Chasselas， Sylvaner， Pinot Blanc， Auxerrois， Muscat， Riesling， Rosé， Pinot Noir， Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer in a separate tasting parlour. Guess where I spent most of my time.

The two must-try restaurants in Colmar are LUn Des Sens run by two sommeliers and Le Cercle des Aromas serving 250 wine by the glass. Le Grognard in Riquewihr has a good wine list and an even better rum list.

The trip was super enjoyable. To see and experience a wine region first hand is the way to understand its wine. We may be familiar with Burgundian fine wine but visiting the villages and seeing people working in vineyards allow us to appreciate the lesser appellation wines. Mingling with locals certainly help us broaden our horizon. Moreover， wine regions are not only about wine. There are history， culture， outdoor activities and of course fine cuisines. Please plan your next holiday exploring wine regions.